Biomedical Informatics vs Bioinformatics

In the booming world of informatics, there are many subdisciplines within, Biomedical Informatics which is also sometimes referred to as Health informatics is one of them. Another branch of informatics is Bioinformatics which is often mistakenly understood as the same as biomedical informatics. People often use these two terms interchangeably as Bioinformatics pretty much sounds like just a similar name for Biomedical Informatics. Too much confusion right? Well don’t worry, we have made a clear and distinct comparison between Biomedical Informatics vs Bioinformatics so that you can decide which one is better for you. Keep reading!

Biomedical Informatics vs Bioinformatics: Difference

Biomedical Informatics is the field that analyzes bioinformatic data sets to find a customized cure for patients and streamline various care processes in the healthcare fraternity. Working Professionals in Biomedical informatics hold master’s or doctoral degrees in health and clinical informatics, health economics, epidemiology, behavioral psychology, and anthropology.

Famous areas of research in Biomedical Informatics include:

• Clinical informatics
• Consumer health informatics
• Imaging informatics
• Research informatics
• Health information management
• Public health informatics

Bioinformatics is a field that combines biology, information technology, and computer science to advance the knowledge of biological genomics and conduct research to discover cures for the ailments. Working Professionals in bioinformatics hold master’s or doctoral degrees in epidemiology, genometrics, genetics, pharmacology, agriculture, mathematics, or computer science.

Famous areas of research in Bioinformatics include:

• Comparative genomics
• Agriculture
• Biomedicine
• Evolutionary genomics
• Microbiology

Biomedical Informatics vs Bioinformatics: Course Curriculum

Biomedical Informatics

The course curriculum for a master’s degree in Biomedical Informatics includes:

• Anatomy, Physiology, Pathophysiology, Pharmacology, and Medical Terminology
• Data Science in Health Informatics
• Data Analytics and Machine Learning in Health Science
• Database Design and Big Data Analytics
• Financial Management and Health Care Reimbursement
• Digital Health
• Foundations of Health Informatics
• Health Vocabulary, Terminology, and Classification Systems
• Health Information and the Health Care System
• Leadership and Project Management
• Practical Statistics and Programming Using Python and R
• Practical Research and Evaluation Methods
• Security, Privacy, Legal and Ethical Issues in Health IT
• Talent Management and Human Resources

Bioinformatics:

The course curriculum for a master’s degree in bioinformatics includes:

• Biotechnology Enterprises
• Genomics in Bioinformatics
• Computational Methods
• Proteomics in Bioinformatics
• Programming for Bioinformatics
• Ethics in Biological Research
• Statistics in Bioinformatics
• Biomedical Engineering
• Cancer Biology
• Cellular Engineering
• Medical Image Processing
• Drug Design and Discovery
• Microbial Biotechnology
• Plant Biotechnology
• Neurobiology
• Protein Crystallography
• Predictive Health Genomics
• Visualization Methods for Science
• Theoretical Ecology

Biomedical Informatics vs Bioinformatics: Specializations

The specializations offered in Biomedical Informatics include:

• Biomedical Informatics
• Data Science
• Cyber Security
• Ethics
• Health Data Analysis
• Population Health Informatics
• Healthcare Services
• Hospital Management Informatics
• nursing Informatics
• Information Technology in Healthcare
• Organization Development and Leadership

The specializations offered in Bioinformatics include:

• Agriculture/Crop Sciences
• Bioengineering
• Animal Sciences
• Biomedicine
• Comparative Genomics
• Omics
• Biotechnology
• Evolutionary Genomics
• Medical Informatics
• Information Sciences
• Microbiology

Biomedical Informatics vs Bioinformatics: Top Universities 

The top universities across the world offering degrees in Biomedical Informatics are:

• Duke University
• Harvard University
• Johns Hopkins University
• Medical College of Wisconsin
• SUNY Downstate Medical Center
• University of California – Davis
• University of Michigan – Ann Arbor
• University of Pittsburgh
• University of Washington – Seattle Campus

The top universities across the world offering degrees in Bioinformatics are:

• Georgia Institute of Technology (Main Campus)
• Harvard University
• Johns Hopkins University
• New York University
• Northeastern University
• Rochester Institute of Technology
• University of California – Berkeley
• University of Michigan – Ann Arbor

Biomedical Informatics vs Bioinformatics: Duration

Biomedical Informatics

Usually, it is often told that it takes around two years of full-time study to earn a master’s degree in Biomedical Informatics, but this isn’t completely accurate. Most of the time, Biomedical Informatics programs are taken up by working professionals, with classes being held in either the evenings or on weekends. It mostly takes more than 2 years to complete.

Bioinformatics

A lot of the Bioinformatics programs take between 16 months to 24 months to get completed. Certain research-intensive programs might take longer, however, the good thing is that the time to graduation is decided not by a schedule of courses but by the progress of the student

Biomedical Informatics vs Bioinformatics: Career scope

Biomedical Informatics:

The prospects for jobs in Biomedical Informatics are pretty good because of the fact that the medical facilities, drug, healthcare networks, research labs, and medical device manufacturers, all have the requirement to find alternatives to leverage the data they collect on a daily basis. This helps for the quicker growth of jobs for medical records and health information technicians.

Most common jobs for someone with a degree in Biomedical Informatics include:

• EMR specialist 
• Health data resource manager
• Health data analyst
• Health IT specialists 
• Informatics analyst
• Informatics specialist 
• Clinical informatics analyst  
• Nursing informaticist
• Clinical informatics coordinator

Bioinformatics:

The life sciences have grown and expanded to incorporate Big Data and data analytics as its sub-field, bioinformatics jobs have exploded and how. This field is soaring high, and the chances are that it will only get higher as researchers have been discovering new uses for data science every day. Bioinformatics graduates having a background in computer science and biology combined are very lucky in their fate for finding work. 

Some of the most lucrative job roles for bioinformatics degree holders include:

• Bioinformatician 
• Bioinformatics research specialist 
• Bioinformatics developer 
• Bioinformatics systems analyst 
• Biostatistician
• Bioinformatics technician 
• Computational biologist 

FAQs

This was all about the comparison between Biomedical Informatics and Bioinformatics. Now you are well aware of all the comparisons between these two fields and decide for yourself which you consider pursuing your career in. Get in touch with our Leverage Edu experts who will assist you in securing your admission to one of the top universities abroad.